title: Prospective follow-up of menstrual disorders in adolescence and prognostic factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Clinical follow-up of menstrual status and eating behavior in grown-up women diagnosed with menstrual disturbance in adolescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective follow-up study six years after the initial study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A youth clinic that is part of the school health system in Stockholm.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-seven women diagnosed with secondary amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea in adolescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects underwent gynecological examination, evaluation of eating behavior and endocrine status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Menstrual status and eating behavior changes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Menstrual disturbances were still present in 62% of the subjects not using hormonal contraception, 59% of which fulfilled the criteria for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The frequency of persistent menstrual disturbance was significantly more common in women with previous oligomenorrhea than secondary amenorrhea. The occurrence of eating disorders was decreased by half to 31% in women diagnosed with secondary amenorrhea at the initial study, whereas it was unchanged (40%) in women with previous oligomenorrhea. Recovery from anorectic behavior, primarily in the group of secondary amenorrhea, significantly predicted resumption with menses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Menstrual disturbances and eating disorders were still frequent after six years in a follow-up of women who had menstrual disturbance in adolescence. PCOS was the main cause explaining persistent menstrual disorder, whereas recovery of anorectic eating disorders predicted resumption of menses. The findings call for a continued follow-up of women diagnosed with menstrual disturbance in their teens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman and Child Health, Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. marianne.wiksten@utbildning.stockholm.se
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiksten-Almströmer
authors.forename: Angelica Lindén
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Hirschberg
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hagenfeldt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000568:Amenorrhea / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000150:complications; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D009839:Oligomenorrhea / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D011379:Prognosis; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000378:metabolism; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D003276:Contraceptives, Oral; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D011388:Prolactin; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone; D013972:Thyrotropin